The number of private homes sold shrank by 20 per cent quarter on quarter, and by about 16 per cent year on year.
The number of units sold shrank by 20 per cent quarter on quarter, and by about 16 per cent year on year, dragged down by slower resale and sub-sale transactions, analysts said. A sub-sale is recorded when a buyer resells a property bought directly from a developer before a project is completed. Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at property firm OrangeTee Group, noted that the proportion of new home sales, excluding executive condominiums , jumped to 31 per cent in the first quarter, from 25.4 per cent in the preceding quarter. Resale transactions, on the other hand, fell to 62.3 per cent, from 65.5 per cent.
Quarterly gains were not significant in the suburbs and city fringe areas, which rose less than 1 per cent.